The latest set of matches in the Super League XXVIII concludes on Saturday afternoon and after a repeat of one of the semi-finals from last term took place on Friday night, the other semi rematch takes place as St Helens host the Salford Red Devils.
Saints began the weekend outside of the top six and certainly won’t want to lose any more ground on those above them. Salford are sat in fifth and are beginning to find the consistency they had the longer last season went on so this is nicely setup.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on Channel 4 in the UK. The build-up to the game begins at 12.45pm with kick off coming at 1pm.
St Helens
There was probably always going to be a drop off for St Helens this season after three years of competing at the top end of the competition. There are only so much mental reserves that a team can draw upon and when you add the World Club Challenge success into the pot too, emulating the consistency and the dominance of previous seasons was always going to be a tough ask. I think it is fair to say that nobody saw the fade being quite this strong though.
One reason for the extent of the drop is injuries which St Helens have had to deal with throughout the campaign. The other is a different voice in the coaching seat, although it is unlikely that Paul Wellens will have changed too much. Saints go into this match off the back of just one win in their last four outings, but they should be quick to point out that they have won their last three at home so their issues are on their travels rather than home soil.
Salford Red Devils
The Salford Red Devils started out on this campaign looking to show everyone that their excellent campaign last term was no fluke. Much like the way they began the 2022 season, they started this one a little inconsistently and needed time to get their combinations up and running and performing to the level that they did last season. That looks like it has been established and four successive wins heading into this match would be testament to that.
The Red Devils last season were known as an exciting and entertaining team who threw the ball around and piled the offensive pressure on opponents and when they cracked take full advantage with a number of tries. That hasn’t really been how they have gone about their business this time around with these four wins all coming with 22 points scored or less, but they have worked hard on their defence and probably have a better balance this term than they did a year ago.
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Team News
St Helens are expected to bring Curtis Sironen back into their side for this match but there is no Konrad Hurrell for reasons which haven’t been revealed. Dan Norman is back from injury and could feature here too.
Ryan Brierley has been named in the Salford Red Devils squad which is a boost to their chances but Ken Sio and Tim Lafai continue to miss out and will be missed here. Brodie Croft might have a point to prove having missed the semi-final last season due to the concussion protocol.
Betting
The home form of St Helens has to be respected but I’m still surprised that the Salford Red Devils are getting a double digit start in this match. Admittedly I would be a lot more comfortable with this start if Ken Sio and Tim Lafai were available for the visitors but I still think there is enough about Salford to think they can keep this close, without visiting the revenge mission which I’m sure is going to get spoken about at some point in the build-up in the visitors dressing room.
Salford go into this match off the back of four successive victories and three of those wins hold a fair amount of merit. St Helens have lost three of their last four matches and in those defeats they haven’t scored more than 14 points. To be fair to the champions, they have lost to three of the other four best sides in the league over the last season or two so it isn’t drastic form but they just don’t look quite as potent in attack and so a solid Salford defence can contain them enough to stay within 10 points regardless of who wins.
Tips
Back Salford Red Devils (+10) to beat St Helens for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Sky Bet
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